[Intro]
[Snare cadence answered by three clipped guitar chords]

[Verse 1]
They passed the laundromat quarter to nine,
Red hats bobbing in military time.
Same little symbol, same little phrase,
Same fixed smile through camera haze.

[Pre-Chorus]
One voice doubts, ten voices raid,
Step into line for the red hat parade.

[Chorus]
Red Hat Parade, heads in a row,
Tell them who to hate and they already know.
Cloth is not courage, rage is not aid,
Take back your name from the Red Hat Parade.

[Verse 2]
Elena poured coffee behind the old glass,
They blocked the doorway and demanded she clap.
Her father welded the overpass rail,
Her brother lost freight when the company failed.

[Chorus]
Red Hat Parade, heads in a row,
Tell them who to hate and they already know.
Cloth is not courage, rage is not aid,
Take back your name from the Red Hat Parade.

[Verse 3]
My uncle walked near the back of the line,
Factory badge still pinned to his side.
He took off the hat but kept it in hand,
Proof of a choice he could not understand.

[Break]
[March collapses into bass, rimshots and alternating gang vocals]

Who sold the hat?
They did!
Who keeps the profit?
They do!

[Bridge]
Uniform comfort becomes an excuse,
Fear gets polished and handed to you.
Red cloth drops into the rain,
One block home, he walks beside me again.

[Instrumental]
[Fast snare break leading into a dissonant two-guitar chase]

[Final Chorus]
Red Hat Parade, hats in the road,
Some feet turn home when the truth takes hold.
Cloth is not courage, rage is not aid,
Walk as yourself, not a Red Hat Parade.

[Outro]
The bucket beat stops.
Rain darkens red.